Since the present invention relates both to rally caps and flags and is, in fact, a combination of these two articles of manufacture, it is perhaps useful to understand these seemingly unrelated products to better appreciate their unique combination.
Rally Caps
According to Wikipedia: “A rally cap is a baseball cap worn while inside-out or in another unconventional manner by players or fans, in order to will a team into a come-from behind rally late in the game. The Rally Cap is primarily a baseball superstition. The first appearance of the Rally Cap was during the 1942 baseball season, when fans of the Detroit Tigers, while in attendance at Tiger Stadium, occasionally would wear their baseball caps inside-out as a makeshift talisman to generate a come-from-behind victory in the late innings of a baseball game. The superstition spread from the fans to the Tigers players themselves, and rose to national awareness during the 1945 World Series when the Detroit Tigers were playing the Chicago Cubs. The Tigers were tied in Game 5 with the series tied at 2-2. In the 6th inning of that game, the radio announcer mentioned certain members of the Tigers in the dugout wearing their caps inside out. Subsequently, in that inning of that game, the Tigers scored 4 runs after a ball rolled between the legs of Chicago first baseman Phil Cavaretta. The Tigers then went on to win the game 8-4. The historic rally led to a Game 7 win, allegedly with the prominent assistance of their “Rally Caps” allowing them to become the 1945 World Series Champions. The Rally Cap subsequently was adopted by baseball fans internationally, being used to give their team a little extra mojo and come from behind. The Rally Cap was later seen in 1986 when the New York Mets wore them in their come from behind World Series victory over the Boston Red Sox. The belief behind the rally cap is generally to sacrifice a small amount of one's dignity in exchange for a little luck for one's team. It is widely understood that the baseball cap must be one depicting the logo of the team in order to be used as a Rally Cap.”
Flags, Banners & Pennants
Flags, banners, and pennants are well-known and generally include a pole, staff or mast and a piece of woven cloth or other material bearing a design, logo or other indicia. Sometimes the term “flag” is used to denote the graphic design employed by a flag, although this is not the meaning of the term used in this patent. Flags and banners are closely related, and, for purposes of this patent, are synonymous. Most flags have a single ply of material, bearing a logo or indicia on each side of the single ply. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag.
Flags are usually, but not always, rectangular in shape, but they may be of any size and shape. Triangular flags and banners represent one such alternative shape.
A flag may be secured to its mast in any number of ways. For example, the flag may include eyelets located along an edge of the flag, through which ropes or lines may pass to secure the flag to the mast. In the alternative, the flag may have a closed loop of material that extends along an edge of the flag proximate the mast. The closed loop is placed over the pole to support the flag. Some flags are designed and intended to be flown on poles. Other flags are designed and intended to be hand-held or clamped (for example to automobile windows).
Designs on flags can be made in a number of ways. They can be dyed, embroidered, silk-screened, printed, or woven directly into the fabric, for example. Some flags are dyed through and through so that the reverse side is the mirror image of the obverse (front) side. This arrangement is possible where the design is symmetrical in an axis parallel to the flag pole, where the obverse and reverse will be identical despite the mirror-image. This doesn't usually work where the flag design includes text.
Flags are used in messaging, advertising, decorative purposes, and, of course, to symbolize and identify countries and nations. They are also used to show loyalty and support for sports teams. In many “sports towns” it is not uncommon for ardent fans to display team loyalty flags in their front yards, mounted to their houses, held in hand at games, or even mounted to their car windows. These flags tend to become especially visible during playoffs in professional sports (NHL, NFL, MLB & NBA). For example, during the 2007 NHL playoffs, it was probably not possible to drive on any major road in Buffalo, N.Y. without passing a car displaying a Buffalo Sabres team flag mounted externally to a vehicle window or vehicle antenna. Most of these fans probably wanted to show their support for the team in a special way when the Sabres fell behind in the playoffs.
A related problem yet to be solved is to provide a means of satisfying needs of sports fans in cities having more than one professional sports franchise. For example, in Buffalo, fans of football, hockey and baseball have heretofore had to purchase one team flag for the Buffalo Sabres, another for the Buffalo Bills, and yet another for the Buffalo Bisons (or Toronto Blue Jays). These “multiple sports” fans have endured a long-felt need for a flag that can be reversed to support different teams during different seasons. Similarly, manufacturers of these flags presently have to stock individual team flags. If one flag could be easily turned inside-out to display another team logo, a vendor could bring a single product inventory to Ralph Wilson Stadium when the Bills take on the Miami Dolphins or New England Patriots. A Bills fan would display the flag normally (“outside-out” and/or “inside-in”); a Dolphins fan would display the flag inside-out. The concept of a dual-sport or dual-team flag could also be expanded to non-sports use. For example, an outer indicia/logo could be displayed for Halloween, and an inner indicia/logo could be displayed for Thanksgiving.
While rally caps have long been known and displayed at sporting events, there has been a longfelt need, at least by sports fans, for a rally flag that combines the elements and features of a flag and a rally cap, that can be used not only at a game itself, but also between games in a playoff series to rally a team that has fallen behind in the series.